Kristen Brown Hits it Big – Our Year in the Life Mom Makes it Into GNC and Beyond

May has been a hectic month for our Year in the Life mom Kristen Brown, owner of Happy Hour Effect. She writes:

I made a last minute manufacturer switch for my
health supplement because my first company didn’t feel like the right fit.And I have been so much happier – like we’re
on the same wavelength.But it’s been a
little tense too because the product will hit GNC stores in June so we have
been cranking out labels, product and shipping documents on a very tight
timeline.

With this, of course, comes the need to get the name out into the minds of potential clients, and Kristen has been doing this through the use of advertorials, which will appear in such magazines as Shape and Working Mother. Kristen also plans to test a few radio spots during rush hour.

She says:

I had two big speaking engagements early in May that went
well.I am working on pushing that part
of my career more, but it takes a lot of time to send out mailings, do the
research and create all of the marketing collateral for it. But it’s something
I enjoy and that people find very helpful so I am going to try and carve out
more time for it.

While this building of name has been a welcome sensation for Kristen, it also means she must find some money to support the growth of her company. As we know, this can always be difficult when it comes to starting a new company.

Once product hits stores in June, it will be a
lot of number-crunching to maximize sales and a lot of bookwork to be sure I
actually make money again since I’m still money-poor but happiness-rich.

In the beginning of June, Kristen will travel to Los Angeles for an MTV Music Awards event, where she hopes to promote her company; but the biggest news of all has been Kristen’s nomination as a finalist for the American Business Awards. “

We’re up against Samsung and some other big
companies so I am doubtful we will actually win, but just being nominated in
the same group is amazing!!”

Give Kristen your best thoughts on June 21st, when she will be in New York City at the awards show, hoping for the best.

Kristen writes:

And the happiness levels have definitely been off-the-charts
this month.My daughter has been home
with me a lot and now that the weather is warmer, we have a lot more fun
activities we can do.We are both
loving flip-flops and sundresses!Until
next month…